Down the Rabbit Hole
by Elements of Dust
Summary: Ash often thought about the events leading up to Remnant. Beyond that, he didn't dare venture. There wasn't any hope of going back home. Now, he wasn't even sure that there was a home to go back to. All these day, in this place, didn't do wonders for his mind. More than anything, he wished that he could forget. And he was forgetting, but all things take time.
1. In Another Moment

**In Another Moment**

"Turn down that damned radio!"

Over the incessant blaring of 'Lean On Me' and the occasional jumps and bumps of Drewton's underfunded, poorly paved roads, Ashford Ciar heard his companion's near-scream. His lip twitching up, he raised an eyebrow and glanced over at the brunette in his passenger's seat, catching a glimpse of annoyed hazel eyes glaring at him. "My car, my rules, hot-head."

"I swear to whatever god you believe in Ash, I will send you to him if I have to."

Looking back towards the road, through the annual falling of autumn leaves as they weaved clumsy paths through almost-winter winds, Ashford let his small smirk grow. "Fine, turn it down if you want. I'm too busy driving." He glanced at her pointedly, making sure that she saw, before turning back to the road, "You talk enough, Saph?"

Rolling her eyes, she reached over to the pallid green glow of the radio, and spun the knob responsible for volume until the radio turned off completely. "Happy?"

Ignoring both of his questions, she writhed around in her seat until she faced the window next to her. Throwing his gaze her way, Ashford was only able to see her through the dim reflection she cast off. Soft, mirthless hazel eyes. Graceless, curled auburn hair to frame a set of softly curved cheeks, prickled with a light shadow of freckles. He couldn't help but to see the beauty in it. The beauty in her. Careless, but still managing elegance.

"What do you think it'll be like?"

Broken out of his reverie, he shook his head lightly and looked back at her reflection. She hadn't moved, and he wouldn't have even known she had really talked unless he'd heard her so clearly. "What?"

"When we grow up. I don't like to think about it, but I want to know."

He blinked for a moment, stunned. Then, realizing what she asked, he laughed, long and hearty, before turning back to the road. "I thought you'd ask something deep and meaningful, not..." Embracing the silence, he turned back to her. Now sporting a frown, he saw the beginnings of a tear gathering in her eye. He sighed. "We're only teenagers, Sapphire. There's no use in thinking like that. It isn't healthy..."

Trailing off, he looked back towards the road. Long past the settling leaves, they he drove through a field, wired off farmland on either side of them. But it wasn't this that interested him. Under the rising sun, he heard something faint. He had to strain, but it was there. A low, almost silent, rumble with seemingly no origin. By the time he realized what it was, there was nothing he could do.

The ground beneath him shuttered violently, and the car jerked around in uncontrollable bursts. From beside him, he heard a panicked shriek, and all he could do was answer. "An earthquake! Hold on to somethin'!" Instead of driving on, Ashford lurched forward, slamming his foot on the brake. The car slid to a halt, and through the doors, he could smell the light scent of burning rubber. "Get under the car! Now!" He said, reaching down to unbuckle himself before turning to Sapphire.

He gaped for at her for a moment, her eyes dull, wide, and unmoving. Reaching over, he shook her and she blinked, looking at him. "Under the car!" All she managed was a squeak of acknowledgement, before they both struggled to climb out of the car.

In a matter of moments, they both slid quickly under the semi-protective chassis of the vehicle. Around them, the ground shifted unnaturally, and the pavement around them cracked in jagged patterns. Over the rumbling, Ash heard the metallic groaning of tension, presumably in the wired fences around them, and eventually a snap. Then, metal scraping, as the barbs on the wire shot off in skewed paths when the cables snapped. He reached out, grouping around for his companion, and eventually found her hand. He wasn't sure that he ever wanted to let go.

Moments passed, and the rumble only became louder. Opening his eyes, he saw the hunched shadow of Sapphire beside him. He began to shamble closer to her, but hesitated as an odd sense of foreboding overtook him.

Moments later, he gaped as the ground began to rumbled even harder than it had before, and the pavement between them split open. At first, it wasn't a large fissure. But as it began to grow larger and quicker, he soon realized the danger. "Sapphire, out! Hurry!" His throat burned from the shouting, as he pushed her out from under the car, and then tried to crawl out himself.

But then he heard obnoxious creaking that makes his stomach drop.

He saw the sunlight, looked up and saw the small barbs imbedded in the grey paneling of his car. Then he looked back towards the wheel, where the tire had rolled entirely over his ankle, trapping him. Pulling, he only managed to hurt himself, along with giving him the overwhelming urge to scream.

"Ashford!"

Turning back, he saw Sapphire, her arm outstretched. He shook his head. "My foot's stuck." She looked down his leg and finally at the tire. Following her gaze back over to it, Ashford heard a creak. Stubbornly gripping the pavement, he felt his body fall, before he lurched as the grip on his hands was tested. Somehow, the car above him stayed in its place. Looking to her, he shook his head. "Get back, Saph. It's gonna' fall."

Before she could respond, the car creaked again before falling slightly and proving itself against a piece of Earth jutting out, missing Ash's body by inches. Then, the ground lurched quickly, and the car fell. He braced himself for the pain of his body being crushed, but with a violent shift and possibly an explosion, the car tumbled harmlessly into the chasm below. The pain from his ankle as the car fell, however, made him gasp, and the fingers on his left hand lost their grip. Stunned, Sapphire shook her head quickly, before looking over towards Ash. Rushing over, neither of them realized that the rumbling had stopped.

"H-Hold on! I can p-pull you up!" She stuttered

But both of them knew that she couldn't. She was weak, as he'd told her many times before in better situations, tired from the experience, and he was losing his grip. His feet dangled above the featureless void below him, and he looked up towards her. Her hair, the color of Fall leaves, drifting around on the wind in stringy threads. Her eyes, the color of chestnuts and spices, with tears trailing from them. The feather necklace, dangling harmlessly from her neck.

He knew that he would fall. He knew that he would die. So he didn't say 'I'll miss you.' He didn't say 'It's okay to forget.' In his pain addled, shocked state, all he could manage to mumble was...

"Well Shit."

And as his fingers finally gave out, all he could see were the tears flying upwards from his face as he fell down into the void.

* * *

The sensation was odd. Once, in freshman year, he felt what it was like to have electricity run through his body without actually leaving it. It felt prickly, and unexplainable. He didn't expect it, but he experienced the same level of unexplainability when he fell.

It was lonely, perhaps even the loneliest he'd ever felt. The chasm wouldn't even give him the decency to fall in darkness. Instead, a faint light mockingly warmed him, and, at some point, he noticed his scream. It was the scream he noticed first. Not the way his throat burned from it, and not the hate that fell with him. It was the scream.

At some point, in the time that he fell, he forgot what it was like to not have the wind screaming against his face. He forgot what it was like to feel ground. And, now that the small light, once kind and mocking, had grown into something almost as blinding as the sun, he forgot what darkness felt like.

And then it was over. With a loud pop that he could feel echo in his eardrums, and a stinging sensation that felt like millions of watts of electricity flowing through his body at once, the light around him dimmed to let him see, with bleary eyes, a white mass rushing towards him.

"Finally. An end."

He cried tears of joy from then until he impacted with the ground, and the first darkness in what felt like years overtook him.

* * *

The first thing that he felt was the wind. His body ached, and he felt as though his eyes had been glued shut. In fact, in a matter of moments, he realized that he hadn't only felt the wind. He'd heard it, too. It was weird, for the first time, he knew how the wind sounded when it was howling.

Then he remembered a lesson from physics class, and he realized that it had to be howling for a reason.

Slowly opening his eyes, and trying to shut them again at the light, his surroundings came into view.

He sat no more than a foot away from a cliff that would certainly kill him. His stomach dropped just looking at it. Beyond the cliff, though, there was nothing in his view, other than desolated, dead forest. That wasn't saying much, though. The wintry fog swirling around him obscured plenty.

Inching backwards, away from the cliff, he felt his back meet some sort of surface. More than anything, against his aching muscles, it hurt. A lot. So, clenching his teeth, he brought one foot to rest firmly on the ground, and stood up. Granted, it was slow, and he was straining, but he was able. Confused, he looked down to his ankle, to see no signs of any damage. Then, shivering, he decided to worry about that later.

Now standing, he turned around to see the object he'd backed into. A small head stone.

'Summer Rose'

'Thus kindly I scatter'

He, through the pain, managed a small smile. "Someone liked poetry. Sorry, by the way. Didn't see you." And that was it. Looking up, he saw a small forest, dead, like the one below him.

This was the first time he realized that he didn't know where he was.

Eyes widening and panic setting in, he reached into the back pocket of his darkened jeans, and pulled out a smashed mass of wires and metal. Looking towards it, the panic in his stomach escalated. "I don't think insurance is gonna' cover this..." He sighed and threw it off the cliff. Mostly out of rage.

After a few seconds of watching his crumpled phone tumble down the cliffside, he sat back down with a grunt. There was plenty that he didn't want to think about, and anytime the fall or his ankle crossed his mind his head began to hurt. It was all so confusing.

Deciding it best to get it off his train of thought, he stood back up, this time with slightly less pain. He didn't know where he was, or what was going on, but wasting time sitting would do him no good. If he walked for long enough, he was bound to happen upon something.

With that thought in mind, he set off into the forest.

He was losing hope. What felt like hours of walking hadn't led to anything, and his legs weren't exactly holding up very well. On top of that, the wind had been frigid, and he shuddered every time it blew past him. Jeans and a tee shirt weren't the best way to keep warm.

He didn't even know if he was going forward or not. The trees were similar enough to confuse someone to walk in a circle...

Then he heard it. Sweet salvation in the form of reckoning. Something that meant he had heard either his savior or his murderer.

A gunshot.

After little thought, he limped off towards the sound.

* * *

It didn't take long for him to notice that the place was different, somehow.

It wasn't in any obvious thing. No, it was just how the frigid winds of the forest felt against his skin, and how the icy fog only rose to his feet before fading away in the air. Two completely normal things that somehow felt off. And there was the noise. Ash was a great listener, but he hadn't noticed the noises for a while. At many points, he doubted that they were even real.

At first, it was nothing more than a near-silent tapping. Then, it grew louder, until it had turned from a tapping, into heavy footsteps, finally into something that made his stomach drop.

A growl.

He didn't need wolves right now. He was tired and aching, and even though he might've been able to fend them off on a good day, right now he wouldn't even be able to run away. So he decided to take his only viable way of action. To walk away very slowly.

Continuing through dead brush, he tried to walk on in the way of the gunshot, and it seemed as though the snarl had gone away. But all of that hope fell away when he saw something tall dark and haggard dash towards him.

Panicking, he lurched to his left, missing whatever thing had come at him by inches. Then, landing, he turned to see exactly what the thing was. When he saw it, his heart lurched before nearly stopping.

In front of him was no wolf. Instead, a creature with a pelt of the night sky and teeth of crimson stood over him, snarling. Ash could see the trail of saliva slinking down from the thing's clenched maw, and could only hope that the red flakes in it weren't from a previous meal.

And in a second, the moment of analyzation was over. The creature leapt at him again, and years of instinct and martial arts training could only will him to move so much. This time, instead of escaping with nothing harmed, he felt a claw shred through his shirt, the sting of cool winds coming soon after.

Knowing that the creature would have to take a few moments to reposition itself after the lunge, Ashford looked around quickly for something that he could use against the monster. Quickly, he found a sizable rock and grabbed it, only to turn around to see the monster already jumping at him again, with a seemingly renewed bloodlust.

He could do nothing as the thing came towards him, other than punch the thing in the stomach. He didn't expect it to do much, knowing that the thing was much stronger than him. That was, until the creature stumbled backwards, toppling over into the snow.

Looking down at his hands, his eyes widened. What, exactly, had happened to him while he fell?

His confusion was short lived, however, as he heard another guttural growl and looked up only to be met with the oversized paw of the beast in front of him. He, much like the creature, flew backwards. Instead of landing in snow, though, he felt his back hit a tree, and he slid down.

Dazed, he shook his head, trying to get the blurriness to dissipate. Just in time, he saw the oversized paw coming at him once again. This time, he managed to roll forward clumsily as the paw came past.

Getting up, he spun around quickly, ready for the next attack, only to see the thing struggling against the tree he had hit. Realizing that the creature's paw had gotten stuck, he shook his head, still dazed. As it finally faded, though, he realized the opportunity that he had. Raising the rock in his hand above him, he brought it down with a scream that echoed both his strain and the confusion he'd experienced over the past few hours.

 _He wanted to go home._

As soon as the rock connected with the creature's head, it had gone limp, and a dark scarlet liquid that Ash could only assume to be blood began to soak the creature's scalp. He sighed, glad that he could finally rest.

Then the gunshots began again, this time incredibly close. His head snapping upwards, he, through thick brush, saw a distant figure in a red cloak. His only hope so far.

His stomach dropped once more, though, as he noticed the same things he had faced that were behind the red figure. And Ashford could only assume that they were pissed. From the clearing, he could hear the collective growl of, what seemed to be, an entire pack of them. But, what startled him most, was the cloaked figure in the middle of the field. Whoever they were, they hadn't made any motion to run. And, from what Ash had seen in his fight, if they thought to fight all of them at once, then they were completely insane.

He hoped it wasn't hypocritical for him to say that.

Then, in a blur of motion, the hooded figure broke their silent standoff with the creatures and darted forward, something _very_ large detaching from the figure's back. He couldn't be sure, but, twirling around as the monsters charged, the figure looked to be feminine.

As soon as the first thing made contact, Ash knew that he'd underestimated the figure immensely. When the creature's head fell at the feet of its brethren, the things seemed to realized that they had made the same mistake. They realized it too late, though, as the figure sped towards the bulk of them. Ash could barely keep up with her as limbs and heads of the creatures fell from the group. Awestruck, he watched the massacre and, deep down, felt a little bad about himself.

In an instant, it was over. The figure in the field stood wordlessly as bullet casings rained down around her, the corpses of their fallen foes littering the ground around them. Ash stared wordlessly at what he now knew to be a small girl, as she held an enormous crimson scythe behind her.

From beyond the girl, movement caught his eye. Deeping in the clearing, another of the creatures stumbled out of the underbrush. It was small, Ash assumed it to either be an infant or the runt of the liter. Either way, his eyes widened as it inched further into the clearing, closer to the girl. He wasn't sure, but the girl made no notion of having noticed the wolf.

He weighed his options, his eyes still following the creature as it neared.

He could yell out to her. The girl seemed plenty able to protect herself in a fight. But he might confuse her long enough for the creature to pounce. Skilled or not, if a creature of its size managed to make it to her, her frail body couldn't possibly resist its claws.

Alternatively, he could rush forward and try to stop the creature entirely. Much more dangerous, but much more effective. His eyes narrowed as the creature neared dangerously close. He'd made up his mind.

Darting forward from the underbrush, he saw the girl's attention snap to him. Too late to stop, he pushed himself even harder, before bending his knees and jumping forward. He drew his foot back as the creature lunged for the girl as she turned.

Time slowed as his foot connected with the creature's filthy maw mere inches away from the girl. As soon as his foot made contact, a sickening crunch emitted from the thing's snout. Rolling forward as he landed, he shot to his feet and turned, only to see the girl cut the creature in half.

Silence overtook them as ashen eyes met silver. Glancing down, her eyes widened. " _Oh my gosh._ Are you okay?"

He followed her line of vision to his stomach, where, through his blue shirt, he could see red soaking through where the picture of a diamond had been torn in his previous fight. "Huh." He said, and grimaced as a wave of incredible pain racked him. Looking up, the girl was suddenly closer, and he stumbled into her grip.

"Hey! Stay with me!" She said. Ash looked into her eyes again, and suddenly the silver in them was duller than it'd been before.

He smirked sluggishly, "'Tis but a…" He began, before another wave of pain took him and his vision. He realized that they'd started walking as he stumbled out of grip onto a knee. He grunted, biting his tongue to stop himself from wailing at the pain. "Okay, maybe not," He said. From behind him, he heard the girl whisper to herself.

"Who are you?"

And that was the last thing he'd heard before the familiar darkness greeted him.


	2. Down Went Alice After It

**Down Went Alice After It**

He didn't know how many times he'd flashed in and out of consciousness. But, every time he did, he was assaulted by the sheer cold as wind whipped his skin and the overpowering scent of roses. At one point, he'd awoken to see a rabbit scamper around him, but he couldn't be too sure. It all felt so dreamlike that he had trouble sorting through what was real and what wasn't.

 _Beep._

"Ugh…"

 _Beep_

"Five more minutes…."

 _Beep_

He shot up as the monitor let out another shrill shout, his eyes opening to a sheer white room that smelled of strong antiseptic. It didn't take him long to realize it was a hospital. Or, at least, he thought it was. Everything around him resembled things found in a hospital, but they all seemed slightly off.

He was in a bed, and two chairs sat at the bedside. In front of him, just above the door, there was a clear screen that looked like a T.V. There was a table beside the bed and on it was a analog alarm clock.

' _12:15. How long've I been out?'_

The one difference in everything, however, was the small vial of purple grains that seemed to be attached to everything that required power. There was also a lack of wires on everything, despite the fact that it all ran smoothly. He made to get up, but a pain in his gut forced him back down. He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, forcing down a groan of pain.

' _Where the Hell am I?'_

As he thought, the door in front of him opened slowly. When it was open no more than ten inches, the girl he'd seen in the clearing slinked in, carrying, what looked like, a plate of cookies. Shutting the door behind her, she sunk to the floor. Glancing around - Ash assumed it was to make sure no one was watching - and somehow missing him completely, she devoured the cookies just as fast as she had killed those monsters. All at once, Ashford determined that this girl was just plain _fast._ Well, fast and _an expert killer._ It made him shiver.

After she ate the cookies, she rose to her feet and grabbed the plate, before walking over to the chair closest to Ash and sitting down. She put the plate on the table beside the clock, still not seeing him somehow, before stretching and letting loose a flurry of muffled - and oddly cute - yawning noises.

Ash stared at her. She had her eyes closed, and looked so content that he almost thought that she hadn't just killed a pack of monsters. Then she slowly opened her eyes, and Ash coughed. Her eyes widened, and Ash made to get up again, trying and failing to ignore the burning in his gut. The girl jumped forward in protest. "H-Hey! Wait a second!" She squeaked. "You're not going anywhere until you tell me who you are!"

He grunted, letting himself fall back into the bed. "Look," He began, "It's been a long day. I'm confused. I'm tired. I'm hurt," He motioned to his stomach, "And I'd rather be the one asking the questions, not the one answering them." He finished. Looking at her, he saw water pooling in her eyes, and quickly realized that his voice had gotten more and more aggressive as he'd talked.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, before brown fell right back into his face. "Look, I'm sorry," He pulled his knees to his chest, "I don't really know what to do."

A whisper interrupted him, and he looked up to see the girl looking at the floor. He stared for a second. "What'd you say?"

She said it again, loud enough that he could hear it this time. "You could tell me your name." She muttered. Suddenly, Ash felt like an enormous ass.

"It's Ashford. Most people call me Ash. Last name's Ciar." He said, and the girl instantly perked up, a smile lining her features.

"My name's Ruby Rose! Certified Huntress in training." Ash sighed, another question added to his list. He nodded and started to speak once more, doing his best to ignore her bipolar nature.

"Good to meet you, Ruby. Now," He stared straight into her eyes, and he swore he could see something shimmer in them. His stomach began to burn again, and he shook his head, "Could you kindly tell me where the _Hell_ I am?"

* * *

Some fifty minutes and many bluffs of amnesia later, Ashford unconsciously held a hand to his stomach and stared at the girl across from him. She'd done a good job of explaining without asking questions, but it was clear that she was starting to get concerned. With every mention of something he didn't know, her face seemed to fall more and more. Especially when she mentioned something called 'Grimm.'

He nodded after a few moments of silence fell over the two, before scratching his head. "So," he began, "You're telling me that I'm on a world called Remnant." He waited for her to state the affirmative, before reciting more of the brief history lesson he'd been taught, "On a island called Patch, off of the coast of a place called Vale, and that it's one of four main kingdoms that have survived attacks from those wolf... _things_ in the forest, and that those things are called Grimm." He frowned as Ruby shook her head, black-crimson hair swaying as she did so.

"Close, but no crystal," Ash ignored the weird saying as she continued, "The kingdoms have been through the Grimm, but...The Grimm are more than just the Beowolves." She pondered, putting a finger to her chin while her other hand listed off fingers as she spouted names. Meanwhile, Ash had finally put a name to the creature. _Beowolf._ It made him shiver.

"There're Beowolves, Ursai, Nevermore, and Boarbatusks, to name a few." Looking back down at him, she sighed, "Really, there's too many to name." Suddenly, Ash could think of a few reasons why there were only _four_ kingdoms. If the beasts were as fearsome as Ruby had said, then he was surprised there was even _one_ kingdom.

He spoke the thought on his mind, "So these Grimm. If they're so big and bad, then how've we survived this long." He got an answer almost instantly.

"Dust," She said, before smiling nervously and continuing, obviously not comfortable with all the questioning. Ash felt bad, but this world...He needed to learn about it if he wanted to survive. "Well, Dust _and_ Huntsmen and Huntresses. Without them, we wouldn't have any heroes." Ruby got a far-off look in her eye and Ash's brow furrowed. He'd heard Ruby talk about those things before. He now knew that Dust was a sort of elemental 'power' that came in the form of crystals and...dust. He knew that it was the stuff powering everything in the room, but he hadn't realized that it could be so useful in fights. Especially to the point that it was one of the _main reasons_ humanity had survived thus far. But there was one thing he was still in the dark about. Brow still furrowed, he spoke.

"What's a Huntsman?"

As soon as he'd said that, Ruby's eyes snapped to him and he knew that he'd made a _big_ mistake when he asked that question. Something sparkled in Ruby's eyes before she broke off into an impossibly long tangent that involved words like 'heros' and 'amazing'. Other than that, Ash had no idea of what Ruby had said.

Finally finishing her tangent, Ruby looked over to Ash to see how he had reacted to her amazing speech. She paled when she saw his deadpan stare and rubbed the back of her head with a nervous smile. Maybe she had talked a _little_ too fast. "Sorry. Huntsmen are...Just fighters, I guess. They're the ones trained to kill Grimm." She nodded, reassuring herself, before looking back to Ash. "They're heroes. They protect others, so that they can live." Ruby wasn't very eloquent with her words, but Ash could tell just how much she adored these 'Huntsmen'. He glanced over to the clock. Reading 1:32, he realized that they'd been talking for longer than he'd thought. He looked back over to Ruby, who looked at him with a curious face in turn.

"So," he said, "What were you doing in that forest? Another part of that Huntress training thing?" He grinned to himself, failing to notice as Ruby gazed at the floor and frowned. "Were they hazing you?"

"I was talking to my mom." Ash screwed his eyes in confusion, before he made the connection. After he did, his stomach fell.

' _Summer_ Rose _and Ruby_ Rose _. Perfect.'_ He chastised himself mentally. Now he felt like an ass. _Again._

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, and he was immediately grateful for the distraction as a man garbed in a white doctor's lab coat walked in. As he furiously scribbled on a notepad in his hands, Ash gave him a once-over. With golden blonde hair and bags under his eyes, the doctor looked like any other person Ash had seen before. But, after movement caught his eye from behind the doctor, that opinion flew out of the window.

As Ash gaped at the dog tail swaying behind the doctor, Ruby stood. He'd remembered her telling him about this, but the fact that the anatomic marvel was standing before him just shocked him to his core.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." Ash looked up as his surprise was interrupted by a deep voice, belonging to the owner of the tail. Ash began to shrink before he noticed the humor in the doctor's cobalt eyes. He seemed to somehow realize that Ash's stare was one of amazement, rather than disgust. It surprised him. After all, Ruby had said that the latter wasn't very uncommon. Blinking, Ash watched as the man reached out a hand towards him. "I'm Dr. Brown. Bland, I know, but I get by."

Taking Brown's hand, Ash shook briefly before letting go. Before he could get a word in, the doctor continued. "You're lucky your friend here got you here when she did," He smiled as Ruby waved sheepishly at him, "That was a nasty cut. You lost a lot of blood." He furrowed his brow and his tail went a little limp as he looked down to his clipboard. He nodded as he looked up. "We couldn't find any I.D. on you when you got here, though. Mind telling me your name?"

Silently, Ashford was thankful that he'd left his wallet in his car. He knew that he'd have to tell someone about where he was from eventually, but he didn't want it to be because nobody knew what a 'Mississippi' was and wanted to know why it was on his driver's license.

After that moment of thought passed, Ash spoke. "It's Ashford Ciar." He paused and looked down at himself. Brown said they'd searched him, but he was still wearing all of his clothes, save for his shirt. In its place was a large white bandage atop pale, pudgy skin. He didn't expect his shirt to survive, but he didn't have anything else to wear. He frowned, "What now?"

The doctor looked back down to the clipboard in his hands, but still talked. "Well, your vitals all look good. Slight hypertension, but after what you experienced I expect that to go down." Brown looked up from his clipboard. "You should be good to go tomorrow morning, given you keep interaction with Grimm to a minimum for the next few days." Ash nodded as the doctor made a final note on the clipboard before turning around to walk out. "Get some rest, I'll be back later for a few more check-ups."

After he walked out of the room, Ruby went to follow him. She'd left the room before he could question it, and Ash sighed. ' _All of this is so weird,'_ he thought, ' _At this point, I'm not even sure if I_ can _go home.'_ He shook his head, trying not to think about it. Maybe sleep was for the best, like Brown had said. Closing his eyes, he thought of what to do tomorrow before he fell asleep.

* * *

This time, when the morning light filtered in through the window that had been closed yesterday, Ash wasted no time in opening his eyes. Giving a glance around, he noted a distinct lack of red and sighed. Really, it was the first time he'd been alone in a safe situation ever since he'd arrived at this place. This _Remnant_. He braced himself against an unseen chill. The word, like the Beowolves, gave him an odd feeling of nostalgia. And it wasn't one he enjoyed. But, like with the fall, when he thought about it, his head began to ache.

He could remember the earthquake quite clearly, but, with every thought, the details seemed to get foggy. His thoughts went to Sapphire, and suddenly, he found tears welling in his eyes. Not because he missed her, even though he did, but because, at this point, all he could remember about her was her reflection. He couldn't remember how they'd met, or when they'd became friends. Now, as a deep chill settled in the gashes on his stomach, he couldn't even prove to himself that Sapphire had been a real person. And that terrified him.

Before he could delve even further in insanity, the door opened, drawing Ash's attention. Before the person entered - probably Ruby - he began quickly rubbing at his eyes. After a second or two, he looked up to meet the gaze of the same Blonde haired doctor from last night.

Brown had some mirth in his eyes, and if Ash hadn't spent more time looking into them, he would've flipped the man off. What stopped him was the hint of concern, just beyond that mirth.

"I knew you'd miss me, but crying is ridiculous," Brown said. This time, Ash _did_ flip him off, causing the doctor to let out a bark of laughter. "Relax kid, you're not gonna' die." He said, and Ash let him play his tears off of fear. "Your friend went home, but she said that she'd be back to visit you…" He trailed off, gazing off towards the watch on his wrist, "In about an hour or so."

Ash made to sit up, this time able to ignore the burning in his stomach. As he did this, Brown's face twisted into some mix of anxiety and seriousness. "Ash, I had H.R. do a background check on you last night," As soon as he noticed Ash's glare, he changed his tone, "It's our policy at the hospital. To make sure we're not harboring any criminals." His voice reverted back to its serious tone, "But the thing is, we couldn't find _anything_ about you."

Ash's mind raced. What he said had made sense, in fact, he should've expected it. Still, he had no way to clear himself. Before he could think of an excuse, Brown spoke up again, "What I think, is that either someone did a _very_ impossible wipe of your record, or you weren't in that forest on temporary basis." Ash looked down, his hands clenched tight enough to turn the knuckles white. "I won't lie to you, Ash. This visit isn't going to be cheap. If you don't have insurance, you'll probably be down a couple thousand Lien."

Ash balked at his words. Ruby hadn't been very descriptive with her description of Lien, but, from what she'd said, they worked an awful lot like poker chips. Still, whether or not a thousand Lien was a lot of money, Ash didn't have _any_. And that was bad news.

"Which is why I'm telling you to leave."

Ash's head snapped up, his eyes widening. "What?"

Brown smiled at him, before looking down and rummaging around in one of his pockets. When his hand slinked back out, it was holding an off white piece of rectangular paper. "This is a ticket to today's shuttle from Patch to Vale. You're in good enough health to leave, and, if you leave before people start to ask more questions than they already are, then I should be able to convince them that you're related to some noble in Atlas."

Ash stared at the crumpled ticket in Brown's hand, the heat in his stomach morphing into a frigid chill. His situation had been getting worse and worse with every hour that he was on Remnant. The only truly _good_ things that had happened so far were meeting Ruby and Brown giving him this chance of escape, which made the action seem even more kind than it already was.

As Ash threw his legs over the overly wrinkled sheets of his bed, Brown made his way over to a closet in the corner of the room that Ash hadn't noticed. When he finally made it off of the bed, Brown walked back over and threw down a shirt onto the bed. "Wear that. Nobody should stop you when you leave."

Ash made his way over to the doctor, glad to see that he could do so without any major pain. "I don't know why you're doing this," Ash began, "But I'm thankful." He stuck his hand out, watching as Brown shrugged before meeting his handshake.

"I don't know why, but something tells me that you'll be a better help to the world if you're not in a prison cell." Brown then broke the handshake, leaving the ticket in Ash's hand, before turning to leave the room. When he was halfway out the door, Ash called out to him.

"Yeah?"

"When Ruby comes by here, tell her that I said thanks. And that I'll see her again later."

Ash watched as Brown nodded, before leaving and shutting the door behind him. He sighed, before turning his attention to the gray shirt that Brown had thrown onto the bed. He picked it up and held it out in front of him. It was plain, but, as Ash turned in, he noticed a design on the right shoulder. Upon closer inspection, he realized that it looked to be the head of a hare, nestled in between two sprawling laurel branches.

Ash shook his head and sighed, before slipping it on. Other than being a little tight, it fit okay. ' _Better than nothin', I guess,'_ Ash thought, before walking over to the door. He took a deep breath.

"Well," He mumbled, "Here's to not getting arrested."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Thanks, all, for reading! I appreciate the time you've spent on this story thus far, and hope that you'll continue to do so. However, this story is an extreme work-in-progress, in that these are the only two chapters so far. More than anything, this is a preview. So, I'm asking all of my readers to submit their thoughts on the story, so that I can determine whether or not this story needs to be continued.**

 **If the public opinion is mostly positive, then I'll be sure to finish the story and come back to post more when I have enough to be put on a scheduled release date.**

 **If not, then hats off to you. Thanks, once again, for reading! I hope to write more soon!**


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